A Fresh Top Ten

BURLINGAME, Calif. StoragePlus 2006 – When it comes to storage networking, there are plenty of knots to untie. As our StoragePlus event here shows, many aspects of data management and storage are works in progress and, in fact, appear to be growing in complexity every day.

(Yes, there's still time to attend. Come join us at the San Francisco Airport Marriott later today and through tomorrow for what's proving to be a most interesting and worthwhile conference.) Click here for more information.

Which brings us to another point. Since storage is such a volatile area at the moment, we've decided to try something new in the way of profiling key trends.

Here's the thing: After Labor Day, we at Byte and Switch usually turn our thoughts to updating our Top Ten Private Companies list. This year, though, we decided it was time for a change – or an enhancement, if you will – instead of an update.

Why, we asked, rehash the same list of likely candidates poised on the edge of IPO? BlueArc, CommVault, Isilon, Riverbed – we all know the score there. Right now, everyone knows they're successful. (See BlueArc Returns to Trough, Isilon Reveals IPO Plans, and Riverbed Sets IPO Terms.)What may be more interesting at this juncture, we thought, would be a fresh take on the roiling storage startup situation. Where's the innovation? Where's the youthful verve that comes from fresh funding? Who's thinking outside the LUN with some really game-changing ideas about storage, the data center, and content management?

There are plenty of companies to investigate. There's so much going on these days in storage, in fact, that it's a challenge to sift the claims and counterclaims of all the firms aiming to be the next big thing.

The result has been worth the effort. This Thursday, check out our homepage for a brand spanking new list: Top Ten Startups to Watch. These are all newbies that have gotten at least a Series A or B funding round from a big VC in the last two years and have a potentially disruptive story to tell.

We think our new list holds a few surprises. Perhaps there are a couple of predictable choices, too. But more than that, the 10-story package provides as good a barometer of the current state of storage as you're going to find out there.

So, see you Thursday – if not before!— Terry Sweeney, Editor in Chief, and Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and Switch